Ryan Day Updates Buckeyes’ Ongoing Position Battles

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters on Thursday following the Buckeyes’ 13th practice of fall camp. He answered a big batch of questions as his team has now reached the mid-point of preseason practices. He talked about personnel, depth charts, quarterbacks, and much, much more. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

+ Will Howard is the starting quarterback.

+ They are finally through the illness on the offensive line. Tegra Tshabola has been getting better and better. Seth McLaughlin has been the most consistent lineman in camp. They are still trying to figure out the top backups because the illnesses have put them behind schedule in that regard.

+ They do not have a starting punter yet. They have three guys battling for it right now. They need to see consistency, hang time, and placement. They can all do the different styles of punting.

+ Emeka Egbuka will be in the mix as both kick returner and punt returner. Carnell Tate is an option at kick returner as well. Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss could be be in the mix at punt returner. It’s hard to do that kind of stuff live. It takes a couple of games to figure that out with the live action. “They all deserve an opportunity to have the ball in their hands.”

+ On Howard “significantly grading” ahead of the other quarterbacks, “once he went through the offseason” he came in with a much better knowledge of what’s going on. After the first week of camp he started to take control and make good decisions. With this defense they don’t need extraordinary play at quarterback. They just need to play well. “We have a good surrounding case around him.”

+ He met with all of the QBs this morning. He shared with the group that Will Howard was the starter. He separated himself in the last week to 10 days. Devin Brown is the No. 2 right now but that is still a competition. There is a big scrimmage on Saturday. Brown has shown the ability to do everything they’ve asked him to do, he just needs to work on consistency and protecting the ball. He has reminded them of the story of Cardale Jones and JT Barrett, as well as TCU quarterback Max Duggan being a backup the year he went to Heisman ceremony and the national title game. Brown had a really good practice today. “They’ve got to keep pushing.” They’re going to look to get more QBs in the game early this season.

+ Arvell Reese was the defensive MVP in the scrimmage last Saturday. Emeka Egbuka was outstanding as well. They want every position to grade out as champions.

+ They’re trying to keep Tegra Tshabola at guard right now and they don’t want him playing tackle right now. Zen Michalski has shown some signs. “He really has.” They hope to find the third tackle from the tackles. Austin Siereveld has moved from guard to tackle and is impressing. If they move Tshabola, it could create a situation where you now have two positions you’re worried about.

+ What is the advantage to naming a starter this early? “I don’t know.” Will Howard has taken control of the team the last four or five days. Nobody in the locker room will be surprised by the announcement. But you don’t want him to feeling content, but it does give you confidence when you get that spot. Last year’s situation didn’t weigh in on this year’s decision. Every year is different. “This time last year I thought Devin was going to be the starter.”

+ Who is stepping up at WR? Brandon Inniss and Bryson Rodgers are stepping up. Likes Kojo Antwi’s work ethic. “I’m proud of the preseason that Kojo’s had.” “I see some him that are pretty special.” Jayden Ballard has flashed. “He’s done that in the past. We need him to be more consistent.” Mylan Graham for a young player has had a really good five days. He has fought through difficulty of camp. He graded out a champion in the scrimmage last weekend. “I think that we’re building depth there.” Feels better now than he did two weeks ago. Bryson Rodgers has tremendous change of direction.

+ Once James Peoples lost his black stripe, he’s really put his best practices together. He’s got a great look in his eyes. He’s seeing everything faster.

+ When a QB competition is close and the locker room is divided, it can create some stress in picking a QB. That’s not the situation here. Everybody will have their thoughts on who the QB should be. Devin Brown has shown good leadership, but on the field Howard has separated himself.

+ Not sure anything will be answered with the offense on Saturday. They are just trying to take the next step in this long process. It’s all incremental. Will there be some positions won? Probably.

+ Is Julian Sayin in the running as the backup? “Yeah, for sure. He is.” The faster he learns, the faster he’ll be on the field. He’s going to play a lot of football at Ohio State.

+ Will Howard is a poised quarterback. He’s made significant improvements on his ball placement. There were things they needed to work on coming out of the spring. Chip Kelly did a great job helping but in the offseason that’s on the player to do that on their own. When you can anticipate what’s happening instead of reacting, that’s all the difference in the world.

+ “I think our tight ends have made progress.” Will Kacmarek has shown the ability to be durable and accountable in both the pass and run game. Gee Scott has been out a little bit. Jelani Thurman needs to play for them this year. Has a great energy. He is being more and more focused on his job. It’s not an easy position at Ohio State.

+ They’re still working on how they’re going to rotate the running backs. “Ultimately we’re going to roll them.”

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